1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for applying surgical fasteners having replaceable fastener carrying cartridges, and more particularly to a means for registering the cartridge with the jaw mechanism of the instrument to prevent loading of a cartridge having incorrectly sized or positioned fasteners into the instrument.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Surgical fastening devices for simultaneously applying an array of surgical staples or other types of fasteners are known in the art. Such devices are used for suturing body tissue such as, for example, intestinal and gastric walls with spaced parallel rows of longitudinally aligned staples. These surgical stapling devices reduce the time of wound closure in a surgical procedure.
Typically, these devices include a fastener cartridge disposed on one side of the tissue to be fastened, and an anvil assembly parallel to the fastener holder on the other side of the tissue to be fastened. The fastener cartridge is moved linearly towards the anvil assembly so that the tissue is clamped between them. The fasteners may comprise staples and are driven from the fastener cartridge so that the ends of the fasteners pass through the tissue and are formed as they make contact with the anvil assembly, thereby producing an array of formed fasteners in the tissue. Optionally, the fastening apparatus may include a knife mechanism for creating an incision between rows of fasteners. The fasteners can be made of metal, non-absorbable polymers, or bioabsorbable polymers such as polyglycolide, polylactide, and copolymers thereof. Alternately, the anvil surface may support a plurality of retainers for cooperatively engaging the fasteners after the fasteners pass through the tissue.
In common use are devices in which the fastener cartridge comprises a disposable cartridge removably mounted on a cartridge jaw. The cartridge is disposable after a single use, i.e. after the fasteners are fired. The fastener apparatus can be reloaded with a fresh cartridge. The cartridge typically comprises fasteners of a single size, with various sized cartridges available for particular applications. The size and/or arrangement of the fasteners may vary among cartridges. Some surgical apparatuses known in the art can be reusable in a subsequent surgical procedure after cleaning, sterilizing and reloading. Also known in the art are disposable surgical fastener devices, in which the entire apparatus is disposed of after a single use.
The fastening instrument includes a driving mechanism operatively associated with the actuating handle and movable to force the fasteners from the cartridge into tissue positioned between the jaw members. The amount of fasteners, their respective size, and their arrangement or orientation may be required to be preset for a particular operation, and typically, a number of cartridges may be needed to complete the surgical procedure. Depending on the operation, several different sized fasteners may be required, and a plurality of cartridges may be present during the surgery. With such instruments utilizing replaceable cartridges, it would be advantageous to ensure the interchangeability of compatible cartridges in the instrument. It would also be advantageous to provide a readily visible mechanism to achieve this objective.
The novel cartridge and jaw mechanism of the present invention, and in particular its means for registering the cartridge with the jaw mechanism of the surgical fastener applying instrument advantageously provides a means for visually and operatively preventing the loading of an incompatible cartridge onto a fastener applying instrument. A registering tab is provided on the cartridge which is accepted by a complementary notch in the cartridge jaw. The tab and notch are positioned at specific locations corresponding to specific sizes of cartridges, specific arrangements or orientations of fasteners, and/or specific quantities of fasteners. The registering tabs are also configured in such a manner so as to provide a means for grasping the cartridge to facilitate its insertion into the jaw mechanisms. The tabs may also provide a visual indication of the fasteners associated with a particular cartridge.